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Rape and murder trialist refuses to conduct his own defence

Mpho Godfrey Nemagovhani.
Mpho Godfrey Nemagovhani.
Image: Supplied

A man on trial for the  rape and murder of a woman, who  fired his lawyer this week, has flatly refused to cross-examine state witnesses, telling the Limpopo High Court that he insists on being legally represented.

On Tuesday, Mpho Godfrey Nemagovhani, 38, was ordered by j udge Gerrit Muller to  represent himself after he fired his latest Legal Aid lawyer. Ruth Scott was the fourth state lawyer  Nemangovhani had fired after he accused her of  failing to take his instructions and for being impatient with him.

Nemagovhani, from Mbilwi village in Sibasa near Thohoyandou, is accused of raping and killing Mosike Moabelo, 30, of Koopo-Rita village near Tzaneen, in 2009. Her lifeless body was found behind her mother's house.

On Wednesday morning  Muller called on Nemagovhani to cross-examine state witness Suzan Machimani, a pathologist, but he refused. Machimani told the court that she had drawn blood samples from Nemagovhani with his consent at Letaba Hospital where she later handed over the evidence to the police in a sealed bag. 

Nemagovhani said: “I told you on Tuesday and I still repeat, I need a state lawyer because I don't know any act that is read out in court. I have a right to a lawyer. I can't be forced to talk.”

In his response, Muller told  Nemagovhani  he had a lawyer but chose to fire her.

“I told you yesterday [Tuesday] that the matter will proceed because you had the opportunity to have a legal representative but you chose not to have one. And you are not the only one with rights,” said Muller.

Prosecutor Ronald Sithada called on Warrant Officer David Mangwana, who testified that he took pictures of a blanket where Nemagovhani had slept on the night of the incident. 

“I took the pictures of blankets because I was told it was used in the commission of the crime. I went further to take pictures of the victim at Letaba Hospital,” he said.

Mangwana said Mosike was found with blood in her nose and had foam in the mouth.

Nemagovhani further refused to cross-examine Mangwana, saying he can't be forced to speak.

At time of incident, Nemagovhani was offered accommodation by Mosike's mother Evelyn Moabelo, who died after her daughter's funeral. 

The trial only started this week after it was delayed for 13 years.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson in Limpopo, Mashudu Malabi-Dzangi, said the  delay was  due to various reasons including failure to trace the accused and DNA results. 

He said Nemagovhani was arrested June 29 2009 and in August of the same year charges were provisionally withdrawn due to lack of evidence and DNA results which were only released in September 2012.

The state then issued summons and later applied for a warrant of arrest as the suspect had disappeared.

On March 16 2018, Nemagovhani was arrested for the rape and murder of a woman in Mbombela, Mpumalanga. While in custody he was then linked through DNA samples with  Mosike's case and was transferred to Limpopo 

The trial continues. 

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